Anastasios II (emperor)
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Anastasius II ( la, Artemius Anastasius; el, Ἀρτέμιος Ἀναστάσιος, Artémios Anastásios, died 719) was the
Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
from 713 to 715. During his reign he reversed his predecessor's decision to appoint a Monothelete Patriarch of Constantinople. He instead re-elevated
Orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
in Constantinople by appointing Germanus I to the position in order to gain Pope Constantine's favor. His reign was spent attempting to reinforce the Empire and bring it into an era of stability. He was deposed by
Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...
during the Byzantine campaign against the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
in 715. Four years later, in 719, Anastasius would launch a rebellion against
Emperor Leo III Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an e ...
with the intent to reclaim the throne. He initially received support in the form of soldiers and funds from
Tervel of Bulgaria Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...
. But once Anastasius failed to enter Constantinople, the Bulgar forces he had brought complied with a request from Leo III to turn Anastasius and his allies over. Anastasius would then be executed with other members of the rebellion in 719.


Biography

Anastasius was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, originally had the baptismal name of Artemios ( la, Artemius; el, Ἀρτέμιος; male form of
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
), and had served as a bureaucrat and Imperial secretary (''
asekretis The term ''asekretis'' ( gr, ἀσηκρῆτις, asēkrētis, invariable form) designated a senior class of secretaries in the Byzantine imperial court in the 6th–12th centuries. The term is derived from the Latin ''a secretis'', and in its ...
'') for his predecessors as Emperor. During this time, the Byzantine Empire was in a time of instability and crisis known as The Twenty Years’ Anarchy. Imperial authority was unstable after the last dynastic ruler,
Justinian II Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
, was initially dethroned. Byzantium experienced a quick succession of four rulers from 695-713. The fourth ruler being
Philippicus Bardanes Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...
(Philippikos), who overthrew Justinian II for a second time. His policy led to the deposition of the Orthodoxy patriarch of Constantinople in favor of a Monothelete one. This was an unpopular move as the vast majority of Byzantium was Orthodox. It was also unpopular with the church in Rome and alienated the monarchy from the church. Philippicus also prioritized defending against the Bulgars and allocated troops to defend Constantinople. Which allowed the
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
  to advance on the empire’s eastern front. All these things caused Philippicus’ reign to be plagued with discontent among the populace. This discontent would lead the troops of the
Opsikion The Opsician Theme ( gr, θέμα Ὀψικίου, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from la, Obsequium) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Theme (country subdivision), theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern As ...
''Theme'' stationed in
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
to overthrow Emperor
Philippicus Bardanes Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...
in 713. Philippicus was blinded to both prevent him from leading a counter rebellion, as Justinian II had done. But also because the emperor of the Byzantines, traditionally, had to be free of physical imperfections. In blinding him, they hoped to disqualify him from ever being Emperor again both culturally and practically. Effectively stabilizing the line of succession from previous rulers threatening it. The day after Philippicus’ blinding, the conspirators then chose Artemios as Emperor. He chose ''Anastasius'' as his
regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
. Having ascended the throne, the same manner Philippicus did, it was also a distinct possibility he could have left it the same way. To remain on the throne, Anastasius needed stability within the military for both the purposes of preventing another coup and to ensure Imperial control over the military. He did this by blinding and exiling the officers directly responsible for conspiring against his predecessor. This was likely to discourage future rebellions .
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Rule

Anastasius' reign was spent attempting to stabilize the Byzantine Empire. He endeavored to reverse the religious reforms his predecessor had put in place. Anastasius upheld the decisions of the
Sixth Ecumenical Council The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical a ...
and deposed the Monothelete
Patriarch John VI of Constantinople John VI (Greek: Ιωάννης ΣΤ΄, ''Iōannēs VI'' ), (? – July or August 715) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 712 to 715. He had been proceeded by Patriarch Cyrus of Constantinople. He was in all sanctification, succ ...
, replacing him with the orthodox Patriarch Germanus in 715. This served several purposes, first being it quelled the unrest in the orthodoxy population of Constantinople. It also served as furthering Anastasius’ legitimacy as Emperor. Because his rule was the result of a rebellion, he needed as much proof of legitimacy as he could to keep imperial authority stable. And so, by re-elevating Orthodoxy, it put an end to the short-lived schism between the monarchy and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. This would continue a pattern of Byzantine Emperor’s attempting to reconcile with Rome. But as an Emperor who was the product of a coup, Anastasius had a need for symbols of legitimacy. And so, gaining the approval of Pope Constantine would have provided him with a symbol his predecessor did not have, making him more legitimate by comparison. Additionally, Anastasius took steps to correct the sorry state of the Byzantine Empire’s defenses and address the problem of the land that the Byzantine empire had lost. The advancing
Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
surrounded the Empire by land and sea (they penetrated as far as
Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...
in 714), and Anastasius attempted to restore peace by diplomatic means. His emissaries having failed in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, he undertook the restoration of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
's
walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure * Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States *Walls, Mississippi, United States * Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
, the construction of siege equipment, the stockpiling of food, and the rebuilding of the Byzantine fleet. The death of the
Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad ca ...
in 715 gave Anastasius an opportunity to turn the tables on his rival. He dispatched an army under
Leo the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an en ...
, afterwards emperor, to invade
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, and he had his fleet concentrate on
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
with orders not only to resist the approach of the enemy but to destroy their naval stores. Re-conquering land lost to the Caliphate would have both offered the practical advantages of expanding the empire's boarders as well as acting as a display of the new regimes strength.


Deposition

At Rhodes, Opsician troops, resenting Anastasius’ actions taken after his ascension, mutinied, and killed the admiral, John. They then elected to have an Emperor ready before they overthrew Anastasius and proclaimed as emperor
Theodosius III Theodosius III ( el, Θεοδόσιος, Theodósios) was Byzantine emperor from May 715 to 25 March 717. Before rising to power and seizing the throne of the Byzantine Empire, he was a tax collector in Adramyttium. In 715, the Byzantine na ...
(Theodosios), a tax-collector of little renown. After a six-month siege, Constantinople was taken by Theodosius; Anastasius, who had fled to
Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
, was eventually compelled to submit to the new emperor and retired to a
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in
Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
.
Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
states that Anastasius reigned for 1 year and 3 months, which would place his deposition in September 715. However, another possible date is November 715.


Rebellion

Theodosius was later deposed by Leo III who had previously served under Anastasius. Leo would rule over two crises in quick succession. First was a siege at Constantinople by the Umayyad Caliphate. Which created confusion at whether Constantinople had been conquered or not. Troops in Sicily declared for a new Emperor, believing the capitol to be conquered. While they were quelled, by the time the siege had lifted on August 15th, 718, both a siege and a rebellion made it appear as though Leo’s new government was weak.  After seeing this, Anastasius chose to rebel to reclaim the Byzantine throne. In 719. Anastasius left Thessalonica to head a revolt against Leo III. Though who incited the rebellion is contested as Patriarch Nikephoros says Anastasius engineered the plot himself. While
Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
claims Niketas Xylinites initiated the plot by writing to Anastasius. Regardless, Anastasius petitioned
Tervel of Bulgaria Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...
for support and received many troops alongside financial support of 50,000
litres The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...
of gold. However, the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, who offers this information elsewhere, confuses Tervel with his eventual successor
Kormesiy Kormesiy or Kormesii ( bg, Кормесий) was a ruler (khan) of Danubian Bulgaria in the first half of the 8th century. Western chronicles name Kormesiy "the third ruler over the Danube Bulgars", and he is sometimes considered the direct succ ...
, so perhaps Anastasios was allied with the younger ruler. Another explanation holds that Kormesiy represented Tervel during the Bulgarians' negotiation with Anastasius. Despite the success of the coups during the Twenty Years Anarchy, rebellion had a high chance of failure. So Anastasius must have had a reason he believed the risk to be worth it. One explanation is that he saw the siege of Constantinople and the small rebellion as a sign that the state was weak enough that a rebellion could succeed. Another explanation is that Anastasius held a genuine belief that the Empire was in crisis and that he was one of the only people who could save it. And finally, there is the option that Theophanes was accurate and he was counseled into rebellion by Niketas Xylinites. While his motivations remain a mystery, with the Bulgar forces, Anastasius marched on Constantinople. Having written the Master of the Walls in Constantinople, named Niketas Anthrakas, and asked them to open the gates when he arrived. The message was discovered and Niketas was beheaded, removing Anastasius’ ability to easily enter Constantinople. Now unable to enter the city, the Bulgarian’s complied with Leo III’s request to turn Anastasius and his conspirators over. He was killed along with other conspirators including Niketas Xylinitas and the archbishop of Thessaloniki in 719. Anastasius' wife Irene had him buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles.


Historiography

Anastasius’ historical coverage began decades after his death with Theophanes the Confessor and Patriarch Nikephoros. Both were byzantine scholars who covered Anastasius II during their writings about much larger swaths of history. Their coverage of Anastasius was mostly focused on the rebellion Anastasius launched against Leo III. Being the most available accounts written close to the event's occurrence, they are often used as sources for later writing’s about Anastasius. His coverage would remain in the context of covering greater periods of time as history progressed into the 1900’s. The most common form of coverage is an account of his reign after an account of Philippicus’, his predecessor’s, reign. These records portray Anastasius in a positive light in a relative sense to Philippicus. There is also coverage of Anastasius in works that cover Bulgarian actions during his lifetime. More recent sources are sparser in coverage either being encyclopedic in nature or covering Anastasius in relation to Leo III. Though it is most common to see Anastasius’ name mentioned briefly with little about who he was. One explanation for the quantity of works on Anastasius II is that Leo III is typically credited as the emperor that succeeded where Anastasius did not. And so, there are more works discussing Leo III and his achievements instead of Anastasius II. This, combined with a short reign, and few primary sources could explain his lack of coverage.


See also

*
List of Byzantine emperors This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
* Twenty Years Anarchy


References


Bibliography

* Burke, John, and Roger Scott, ''Byzantine Macedonia: Identity, Image, and History'' 13, Leiden: Brill, 2017. * Bury, John B, ''The Cambridge Medieval History'' 2, edited by Henry M Gwatkin and James P Whitney, Macmillan press, 1913. * Chisholm, Hugh. ''Encyclopaedia Britannica''. 1, 11th ed, Cambridge University Press, 1911. * Gregory, Timothy E. “Weak Emperors and Near Anarchy,” in ''A History of Byzantium'', 2nd ed., Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. * Grigoriou-Ioannidou, Martha. “Monoxyla, Slavs, Bulgars, and the Coup Organised by Artemios-Anastasios II.” ''Balkan Stuides'' 39, no. 2 (1998): 181–95. * Longworth, Philip, ''The Making of Eastern Europe: From Prehistory to Postcommunism'', Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1999. * Noahm. “Philippikos (711–713).” Dumbarton Oaks, August 19, 2020. https://www.doaks.org/resources/online-exhibits/gods-regents-on-earth-a-thousand-years-of-byzantine-imperial-seals/rulers-of-byzantium/philippikos-711201313. * “Anastasius II (A.D.713-715).” Roman Emperors An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families, November 25, 2000. http://www.roman-emperors.org/anastasii.htm. * Sheppard, Si, and Graham Turner, ''Constantinople AD 717-18: The Crucible of History,'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2020. * Sumner, Graham V. “Philippicus, Anastasius II and Theodosius III.” ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies'' 17 (1976). * Torgerson, Jesse W. “Introduction,” in ''The Chronographia of George the Synkellos and Theophanes: The Ends of Time in Ninth-Century Constantinople'', Brill, 2022.


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasios 02 8th-century Byzantine emperors Byzantine usurpers Eastern Orthodox monks 7th-century births 719 deaths Executed Byzantine people 8th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Twenty Years' Anarchy 710s in the Byzantine Empire